Act of Congress has taken a circuitous route to the musical realm it now inhabits. The Alabama string band started off as acolytes of the ambitious, progressive bluegrass played by a band like Nickel...

Latest Salem school project coming in under budget

SALEM — The most recent school district elementary school renovation project is coming in on time and under budget, according to Superintendent Michael Delahanty.

Delahanty recently presented the school board with the financial breakdown for renovations to the Soule, Fisk, and Haigh elementary schools.

The town approved a $16,205,000 bond for the project, and Delahanty said he expects there to be a final balance that will see the project come in about $350,000 under budget.

This marks the second major elementary school renovation project to come in on time and under budget, following the work done several years ago to the Barron, Lancaster, and North Salem elementary schools.

“It has been an interesting project to participate in,” said school board member Bernard Campbell. “I think the district has been well served by the relationship with its owner’s project manager.”

There were some overruns on the construction costs, but those were more than made up for in other areas, according to Delahanty.

“We talked about some of the problems, particularly at the Fisk School, that delayed some of the work because we ran into some ledge and had to incur some additional costs to get rid of that ledge,” the superintendent said.

Although those additional costs could have come out of the contingency costs for the project, Delahanty said they are reflected in the construction costs.

While the ledge issues resulted in the construction costs being over budget by $500,000, there were savings in other areas, such as security and equipment and architectural fees that helped keep the overall cost of the project down.

With school starting this week, Delahanty said parents and students at the Soule and Fisk schools can expect to see their schools look virtually like new buildings.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. There's snow on the ground (in some areas) and the spirit of the season in the air. We hope you can spare some time during this busy season to get out as...